Coast Guard rescues 4 from downed airplane

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard rescued four people from the Atchafalaya River approximately 17 nautical miles south of Patterson, Louisiana, Tuesday.

Watchstanders at the Eighth Coast Guard District command center received notification from the Federal Aviation Administration at 4:59 p.m. that a Piper PA-34 twin-engine airplane traveling from Slidell, Lousiana, to Patterson with four people on board was low on fuel.

The airplane pilot shut down the engines to conserve fuel and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Watchstanders directed the launch of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans.

The Air Station New Orleans aircrew hoisted the survivors and transported them to Perry’s Flying Center in Patterson, Louisiana.